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- London: large population, place of political and economical Power
- main centre of English intellectual life
- centre for inland and overseas trade
- rich merchants interested to open up new markets for England
- theatre-going one of the favourite pastimes
public-theatres:
- mixed audience
- primary for the crowd
- stood in the open around the stage
- wealthier people sat in the distance in Lord¡¦s rooms or galleries
private playhouses:
- in the walls of existing buildings
- benches next to stage
- smaller audience capacity
- higher admission prices
3 Elizabethan audiences
1. genteel audience of the private theatres
2. plebeian audience
3. both mixed
- typical Shakespeare¡¦s audience, plays were mostly written for this kind
- theatrical tariffs designed for working-class audience
- 1605 160.000 people living in Westminster
- 16% of London¡¦s population went to theatre every week
- the Swan could hold 3000 people
- the Fortune and the Rose capacity of 2500
- Rose daily visitors 1160-1250 people
- private theatres capacity of 1000
- prices:
public: a penny per person for standing place
+ 1 penny seats in a gallery
+ 1 penny comfortable seat in lords¡¦rooms
private: 6 pennys
- weekly wage of a workman 1601 84 pence
- capacity of the Globe 2000 people
Origins of the Elizabethan Stage
- churches searched for more effective way to teach the holy bible
- 10th century short dramatic presentations of biblical scenes
- 12th till 15th short plays
- first in Latin later in English (Miracle Plays)
- later more complex plays
- put in different locations of the church (called mansions or houses)
- first placed in the church
- organization and acting done by clergy, later guilds (craftsmen)
- wooden boxes now outside of churches in a row or in a half-circle
- each box an other scene and its own group of actors
- most action took place in front of the mansions (playne)
- pageant-method - mansions put on wheeled ¡V wagons
- rolled through the streets
- audience stayed where they were
- each pageant carried a two-storied wooden structure (4 vertical poles in each corner)
- whole structure could be hidden from or presented to the audience¡¦s view
- upper storey "³ used for actions on the city walls or on a window
- lower storey "³ used for ground floor of a house or its rooms (normally kept open)
- 15th and 16th century Miracle Plays replaced by Morality Plays
- taught a moral
- abstract notions appeared on stage as persons (like Sin, Death, Knowledge)
- Interludes popular
- since 14th century
- consisted of short and witty dialogues (social, religious or political satire)
- presented in temporary stages not in public places
- other kind of stage also yards in large inns
- u-shaped, 2 long walls opposite each other with a short wall linking them
- 2 pageants placed against on the walls in a distance
- between them a small platform
- this platform "³ stage
- became bigger ¡§pit¡¨
- occupied by the audience
- kind of neutral ground, depended on the actors what they used this for
- 2 pageants less important
- later put on the opposite sides of the oblong Elizabethan stage
- parted in 2 rows of several wooden structures, open or closed
- representing city walls or storeys of houses but could changed into different functions
- mostly presented on public places "³ problem: how getting money from the audience?
- enclosed places the audience had to pay entrance
- other location: in bear gardens
- The baiting of Bulls and Bears "³ pop. Sport in England
- animals attack each other and fight till death
- arenas also used by actors
- audience stood around the oval arena or sat down on the expensive galleries
- in these theatres fruits, wine and ale were sold
Beginnings of Elizabethan public theatre
- models for the public playhouses in London at end of 16th and beginning 17th century
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